Nathan Ash

Nathan Ash

Done it more than once? Let's script it.

Automation Lead
Melbourne, Australia

Socials

Comfy-Org/ComfyUI ⭐ 135,173

The most powerful and modular diffusion model GUI, api and backend with a graph/nodes interface. The fastest local infer… Python

I’m an Automation Lead and Systems Engineer based in Melbourne, with 13+ years in IT infrastructure.

Currently leading automation and the service desk at The Grid - building deployment pipelines, standardising the SOE, and turning manual IT work into repeatable, documented processes.

I’m passionate about automation, documentation, and building things that just work. When I’m not wrangling infrastructure, I’m tinkering with my homelab or exploring new tech.

What I work with: Datto RMM, Autotask, IT Glue, Intune, Entra ID, PowerShell, Python, Docker, VS Code, Claude Code, and whatever else needs fixing.

Certifications: CCNA, Advanced Diploma in Computer Systems Engineering (Network Security)

Three Small Prints — 3D Printing for TPN Families

A personal project designing and 3D printing practical aids for families managing children with short gut syndrome on TPN therapy.

ChannelSurf: A YouTube Playlist Shuffler with Retro TV Transitions

A single-file web app that randomly surfs through YouTube playlists, playing short clips with TV static, glitch effects, and other retro transitions. Zero dependencies, works anywhere.

ICFS Tables: A Browser Extension Born from Frustration (and Nystagmus)

I built a Chrome/Edge extension that adds alternating row colours to HTML tables because I literally can't see them without it. Here's why and how.

Fixing the Realtek Gaming 2.5GbE Driver: A Journey Through Every Wrong Answer

A Realtek 2.5GbE NIC driver pushed via Windows Update was dropping PCs off the network. Here's how I fixed it at scale with devcon, and every approach that failed first.

Datto File Protection Monitor: Fixing False Positives and Auto-Resolving Alerts

A Datto RMM component monitor that parses the DFP status XML to eliminate false positive alerts from transient connection states, suppress noise during active backups, and auto-resolve when healthy.

Teaching AI to Write Datto RMM Components

An open-source agent skill that gives AI coding assistants deep knowledge of Datto RMM component development -- monitor contracts, PowerShell patterns, and deployment best practices.

pgGhost: Automatically Anonymise PII in Any PostgreSQL Database

An open-source Python tool that auto-discovers schemas, detects PII columns by name patterns, and replaces real data with realistic fake data — while maintaining referential integrity.

DiskHealthCheck: SMART Monitoring That Actually Tells You What's Wrong

A PowerShell script that uses smartmontools to monitor SMART attributes, track degradation over time, and give you a clear OK/Degraded/Failing verdict — standalone or as a Datto RMM component.

Proxmox VMforge: Zero-Touch Windows 11 VMs with Terraform

Automating Windows 11 VM creation on Proxmox using Terraform and PowerShell — from ISO boot to unattended install, fully hands-off.

Datto RMM Toolkit: Reusable PowerShell Functions for Better Components

An open-source collection of PowerShell helper functions for Datto RMM — covering UDF writing, structured logging, exit codes, run-as-user execution, and per-user registry modification.

Managing My Cloudflare DNS with Terraform

How I moved my homelab's DNS from click-ops to Infrastructure as Code using Terraform and the Cloudflare provider.

DumpTruck — A PostgreSQL Backup Tool

Building a production-ready PostgreSQL backup solution with a GUI, CLI, GFS retention, and Datto RMM integration. Named after the best database pun I could think of.

How This Site Works

A look under the hood at my personal site — built with Astro, the Spectre theme, and deployed on Cloudflare Pages.

Hello World

First post on the new site. Built with Astro and the Spectre theme.

Pouzor/homelable ⭐ 3,933

Self-hosted homelab infrastructure visualizer — interactive network diagram with live status monitor… TypeScript

prettytable/prettytable ⭐ 1,761

Display tabular data in a visually appealing ASCII table format Python

JRickey/BattleShip ⭐ 447

A smashin' port for PC, Mac, and Linux! C++

elliotttate/DKC3Recomp ⭐ 100

Native recompilation of Donkey Kong Country 3 (SNES), built the DKC2Recomp way on snesrecomp C

elliotttate/DKC1Recomp ⭐ 206

Static recompilation of Donkey Kong Country (SNES USA v1.0) with native widescreen presentation and … C

agent-sh/agent-workspace-linux ⭐ 179

Isolated Linux desktop workspaces for AI agents — a hidden, agent-owned desktop and browser over MCP… Rust

calesthio/Crucix ⭐ 12,029

Your personal intelligence agent. Watches the world from multiple data sources and pings you when so… JavaScript

pallets/click ⭐ 17,771

Python composable command line interface toolkit Python

DabDavis/perfect-dark-dabs-mod ⭐ 135

Perfect Dark PC port fork: jump, combat roll, melee combos, third person, 80 simulants, spectator ca… C

MicrosoftLearning/MD-102T00-Microsoft-365-Endpoint-Administrator ⭐ 183

Homelab

Self-hosted infrastructure: a Docker stack on Proxmox (docker-01), an Unraid NAS, network-wide ad-blocking, and Cloudflare-gated external access.

PowerShell Automation

Custom deployment and automation tooling built with PowerShell for endpoint management.

July 2026 - Present

The Grid

Automation Lead

Leading automation and the service desk team - standardising the SOE, building PowerShell tooling, and driving repeatable, documented processes across the MSP.

August 2021 - July 2026

Megabus Software (LEO Software Group)

Technical Services Manager

Led the DIDS team - deployment, infrastructure, and endpoint management across Australia and internationally. Built complete SOE from scratch, automated Windows 11 upgrades, and managed server migrations.

2006 - 2021

Voonix ITS

Systems Engineer (Sole Trader)

Independent IT consultancy providing break-fix support, infrastructure design, and managed services to SMBs. Expert-level Linux server administration and web hosting.

2012 - 2013

Network Neighborhood

Junior Network Administrator

Supported 1,000+ users across multiple school campuses. Hands-on with Cisco infrastructure - WLAN controllers, ASAs, IDS/IPS, firewalls, switches.